By Johnny Bellino
The world famous United States Organization (USO) accurately bills itself a “Home Away From Home” for America’s soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen.
Similarly, the Chicago Fight Club, under the leadership of Wasfi Tolaymat, has become a home away from home for its protégé’s, including aspiring lightweight, Antonio Canas.
Canas literam a profitable experience if he would settle in the middle of the martial arts market. Tlly was homeless in California after being lured there by mixed martial arts enthusiasts who “guaranteed” hihe migration had been the finale of a misleading career that saw Canas fight last minute opponents with whom he had no business being in the ring.
‘CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’ NOT REALITY
Even though the lightweight won more than half his fights, Chicago Fight Club rescued him from MMA into a boxing career. Today, Fight Club is Canas’ home, figuratively and literally. Tolaymat saw the successful former wrestler as a worthwhile addition to his growing stable of amateur and professional boxers.
And he determined that Canas’ amazing endurance and work ethic was such an asset, he hired him to condition Fight Club boxers as well as box for Fight Club. Tolaymat provided Canas with not only a salary and a place to train, but ‘bed and breakfast’ at Fight Club headquarters. Not a bad idea since Canas spends six hours training at CFC every day anyway.
TOUGH IN MIND AND BODY
Chicago Fight Club trainer and former boxing champion, ‘Fearless’ Fernando Hernandez calls Canas by far, his best conditioned, and hardest worker. Hernandez pointed to three bloody lacerations traveling up and down Canas right cheekbone, “Today is Monday. He won a unanimous decision Friday night and he already wants to get back into the ring, face cuts and all”, an exasperated Hernandez railed.
So what’s the difference between MMA and Chicago Fight Club? Canas explained, “I am still fighting more experienced boxers,” he said. “But at Fight Club, I have management who takes care of me, knows my skills, and doesn’t take last minute opponents or more experienced fighters, if they didn’t think I could compete. And I can,” the mild mannered lightweight added.
BEGINNER COMPETING AGAINST SEASONED VETERANS
Fighting more experienced competitors is something Canas has been doing since his very first year in high school, when he wrestled on the varsity squad as a freshman. Since the recipe for making a successful wrestler is similar to mixed martial arts and boxing, Canas’ grappling success proved a harbinger of things to come. “He had several good skills when he started boxing several months ago, “Hernandez explained. “My job has been fine tuning the fundamentals; getting him to keep his eyes off the floor, looking at his opponent and attacking from side to side.”
“Canas has such a good chin, he hasn’t had to move anywhere in the ring except forward,” Hernandez added. Canas concurred. “I ran the 100 yard dash, the 440 and 880 as well as the mile in high school. It helped my conditioning, but I didn’t like it. I’m not much for running. I like to go straight forward instead,” he said.
KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE
“But, Hernandez insists, in baseball and you have to keep your eyes on the ball to run down long flies. In football you have to look for the pass while surrounded by a crowd of defenders closing in on you. In boxing you have to keep your eyes on your opponent on offense and defense.” Canas exlained, “the more we fight, the more we’re going to run into boxers who move from side to side to make us miss and then throw counterpunches. We’ve got to keep our eyes on our opponent, see what he’s doing to make us miss, and how he reacts if we do miss,” Canas’ trainer explained.
“And, Hernandez added, when you’re looking down, your torso is pointed toward the ring canvas. You make think you’re going to sneak under your opponent and get a bigger windup leaping from the floor, but that’s too much of all or nothing.” “ If you miss your way too off balance to defend against a counter punch,” Hernandez instructed.
LIGHT IN SIZE HEAVY IN DETERMINATION
Canas is constantly perfecting style. And his conditioning has overcome the obstacles opponents have presented so far. He dominated his last fight, winning three of four rounds. Canas saw the victory even more convincingly. “I stayed strong the whole way. My opponent spent the last round just holding on to me. I didn’t feel any punches.” Nevertheless, the scabs on Canas cheek make Hernandez’s point.
In the end, Fight Club chief Talaymat believes, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” And, as always, Tolaymat puts his money where the tough is. This time it’s Antonio Canas.
Vi por TV la pelea en la que el cubano Yuriorkis Gamboa cumplió los pronósticos al frustrar cualquier intento del mexicano Jorge "Coloradito" Solís y recordé mis pláticas con ese gran conocedor de distintos deportes que fue José Ramón Garmabella, quien siempre tuvo elogios para la calidad de los deportistas de la nación que tiene a La Habana como ciudad capital.
Garmabella evocaba que el triunfo de la Revolución trajo consigo la prohibición del deporte profesional en Cuba, lo que de manera indirecta trajo beneficio para el pugilismo de México, al llegar a tierra azteca toda una pléyade de grandes peleadores.
Se refería de manera especial a Ultiminio Ramos. El "Sugar" de Matanzas, llamado así por haber nacido en esa provincia, no llegaba a los 21 años cuando arribó a la Ciudad de los Palacios, con la etiqueta de invicto y de campeón pluma de su país.
Su apodo viene de que Matanzas es también uno de los puertos principales de Cuba y desde tiempo inmemorial desde esa costa han zarpado barcos llevando azúcar cubana al mundo.
Joserra calificaba a Ramos como un peleador con una gran facilidad para esquivar los envíos del adversario, una precisión notable en su golpeo y por encima de todo, un ponch devastador.
Si a lo anterior aunamos que posee una simpatía a raudales, una gran sencillez y una buena buena dosis de inteligencia y educación, fue natural que saboreara las mieles del éxito, aunque también probó lo amargo del hecho de que dos de sus adversarios murieran por efecto del daño causado por sus puños.
Antes de viajar a México, el 8 de noviembre de 1958, se enfrentó a otro duro peleador cubano, José Blanco, el "Tigre", con el que protagonizó siete violentos episodios. "En el octavo -recuerda-, le conecté un cruzado de derecha en la mandíbula; me sorprendí de la nula resistencia que opuso al caer; al estrellarse con la lona tenía los ojos en blanco. Murió dos días después en el hospital".
El "Sugar" confiesa que durante muchos días pensó en el retiro, pero estaba escrito que superaría ese trance hasta llegar a conquistar el campeonato universal reconocido por el naciente CMB y por la AMB, al noquear en 10 rounds al estadounidense Davey Moore, el 21 de marzo de 1963 en el Dodger Stadium de Los Ángeles. Moore murió dos días más tarde. Aunque Ramos cumplió tres defensas venturosas antes de dejar el trono ante Vicente Saldívar, se dice que ya no fue el mismo después de la tragedia de Davey Moore.
No comments:
Post a Comment